Update... Michael is interviewed by Christian Today, a UK publication, on his thoughts on Trump: "He does not contain an ounce of the grace or thoughtfulness of the man he wants to succeed, the understanding of the job and the aspirations to service of the woman he is running against, or the character and commitment to conservatism of the Republican Party's previous nominees.'

Presidential candidates in debates have always appealed, if not directly to religion, then at least to America's "civil religion," defined by sociologist Robert Bellah, which drew heavily from Judeo-Christian values. This past debate was unique, Yoni Applebaum argues, in that both candidates largely abandoned the rhetoric of America's religion.

A new study from Pew reports that divorce may be a predictor of whether children become religious or nonreligious as adults. Thirty-five percent of the children of divorced parents say that they are nonreligious, compared with 23 percent of people whose parents were married when they were children.

Ross Douthat, in a talk at Messiah college, framed the two political options that Christians now face. They can either rely on political strong men to protect them from the forces of secularization. Or they can rejigger the two-party system and promote a political approach that is decidedly Christian in orientation. John Fea, professor at Messiah College, narrates the story.